Plant & Stewarding Resources

Vaughan tries to show us how big the desert ironwood tree will grow just before we plant it and rain in the neighborhood public right-of-way.
Behind him is a desert ironwood tree that was the same size as the one in the foreground when planted 20 years ago.
Best time to plant at tree is 20 years ago or today!
Reproduced with permission from “Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 2, 2nd Edition” by Brad Lancaster

Favorite local native plant nurseries in Tucson, AZ

• Seed mixes for Sonoran Desert stormwater-harvesting rain gardens

Prickly pear cactus, its edible parts, & more

Wolfberry, its edible parts, & more


Recommended Native Tree & Understory Plant Lists


Choosing Mesquite Trees for Landscapes & How to Identify Different Species

More About Mesquite

Ethnobotanical (Human Uses of Plants) Resources

Invasive Plants to Remove

Recommended contractors for hire

Planting saguaros as living totems.
When Mark Lancaster wast born (45 years before this photo was taken) the saguaro he is hugging was the size of the adolescent saguaro in his right hand. We give away and plant similar-sized adolescents to mark family’s, friends’, and neighbors’ big life events and births. They all then grow up together.
Reproduced with permission from “Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, Volume 2, 2nd Edition” by Brad Lancaster